The effects of acupressure on post-cesarean pain and analgesic consumption: a randomized single-blinded placebo-controlled study

Abstract

Abstract Objectives To assess the effects of P6 and LI4 acupressure on post-caesarean pain and analgesic consumption. Design This was a randomized, single-blinded, placebo-controlled study conducted in a university-affiliated obstetrics clinic between July 2017 and July 2018. Participants Women (n = 132) were randomly assigned to acupressure (n = 44), placebo (n = 44) and control (n = 44) groups. Setting All groups received routine nursing care and analgesia protocol for post-cesarean pain. Acupressure was performed in two sessions, the postpartum second and fourth hours, with the following protocol: bilaterally to P6 (point on wrist) and LI4 (point on hand) points (for 3 minutes on each point). In the placebo group, it was just touched without the pressure on acupressure points, but the main difference was that touching was too superficial to have a therapeutic effect. The control group received only routine nursing care and analgesia protocol for post-cesarean pain. Main Outcome Measures The post-caesarean pain was evaluated four times before and after each session using Visual Analog Scale for pain. Also, the analgesia protocol for post-cesarean pain was recorded for all women. Results The acupressure group experienced the lowest level of post-cesarean pain compared with the placebo and control groups (P = 0.000). The consumption of pethidine hydrochloride and paracetamol was statistically lower in the acupressure group compared with the placebo and control groups (respectively, P = 0.002 and P = 0.040). Conclusion Acupressure is an effective method for reducing post-cesarean pain and analgesic consumption. Clinical trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04337801.